Climate of Ghana

The climate of Ghana is tropical.[1] The eastern coastal belt is warm and comparatively dry, the south-west corner of Ghana is hot and humid, and the north of Ghana is hot and dry.[2] Ghana is located on the Gulf of Guinea, only a few degrees north of the Equator, giving it a warm climate.[3]

A Köppen climate classification map of Ghana.
Tropical climatic Lagoons and Vacation Holiday Resorts in Dodi Island on the Volta Lake.

Climate

The climate of Ghana is tropical and there are two main seasons: the wet and the dry seasons.[4] North Ghana experiences its rainy season from April to mid-October while South Ghana experiences its rainy season from March to mid-November.[4] The tropical climate of Ghana is relatively mild for its latitude.[4] The harmattan, a dry desert wind, blows in north-east Ghana from December to March, lowering the humidity and causing hotter days and cooler nights in northern part of Ghana.[4]

Average daily temperatures range from 30°C (86°F) during the day to 24°C (75°F) at night with a relative humidity between 77 percent and 85 percent.[5] In the southern part of Ghana, there is a bi-modal rainy season: April through June and September through November.[5] Squalls occur in the northern part of Ghana during March and April, followed by occasional rain until August and September, when the rainfall reaches its peak.[5] Rainfall ranges from 78 to 216 centimeters (31 to 85 inches) a year.[5]

Climate data for Ghana
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 30.1
(86.2)		 31.2
(88.2)		 31.6
(88.9)		 31.0
(87.8)		 30.0
(86.0)		 28.3
(82.9)		 27.1
(80.8)		 26.8
(80.2)		 27.4
(81.3)		 28.6
(83.5)		 30.0
(86.0)		 29.5
(85.1)		 29.2
(84.6)
Average low °C (°F) 24.5
(76.1)		 25.8
(78.4)		 26.2
(79.2)		 26.2
(79.2)		 25.4
(77.7)		 24.6
(76.3)		 23.5
(74.3)		 23.2
(73.8)		 23.6
(74.5)		 24.2
(75.6)		 24.3
(75.7)		 24.1
(75.4)		 24.6
(76.3)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 13.6
(0.54)		 40.3
(1.59)		 88.2
(3.47)		 115.7
(4.56)		 160.7
(6.33)		 210.4
(8.28)		 121.3
(4.78)		 88.9
(3.50)		 133.0
(5.24)		 128.1
(5.04)		 56.5
(2.22)		 24.6
(0.97)		 1,184.1
(46.62)
Average rainy days 2 2 5 7 11 14 7 6 8 9 4 2 77
Average relative humidity (%) 79 77 77 80 82 85 85 83 82 83 80 79 85
Mean monthly sunshine hours 214 204 223 213 211 144 142 155 171 220 240 235 2,372
Source: weatherbase.com[5]


Climate change in Ghana
This section is an excerpt from Climate change in Ghana[edit]

Climate change in Ghana will have wide-reaching impacts on the country. Because Ghana sits at the intersection of three hydro-climatic zones, the climate of Ghana is expected to become quite variable.[6] Based on a 20-year baseline climate observation, it is forecasted that maize and other cereal crop yields will reduce by 7% by 2050. Available data also shows a sea level rise of 2.1 mm per year over the last 30 years, indicating a rise of 5.8 cm, 16.5 cm and 34.5 cm by 2020, 2050 and 2080.

Ghana map of Köppen climate classification

Changes in rainfall, other extreme weather conditions, sea-level rise, and the salinity of coastal waters are expected to negatively affect food security, in both farming and fisheries.[7] The national economy stands to suffer from the impacts of climate change because it is dependent on climate sensitive-sectors such as agriculture, energy, forestry, etc. Moreover, access to freshwater is expected to create challenges for both sanitary water, and hydropower which provides 54% of the country's electric capacity.[7] Additionally, Ghana will likely see certain diseases, like malaria and cholera exacerbated by changing weather conditions.[8]

The Dodowa hills just in front of the Shai Osudoku District Hospital been encroached.

References
  1. Igawa, Momoko; Kato, Makoto (2017-09-20). "A new species of hermit crab, Diogenes heteropsammicola (Crustacea, Decapoda, Anomura, Diogenidae), replaces a mutualistic sipunculan in a walking coral symbiosis". PLOS ONE. 12 (9): e0184311. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0184311. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 5606932. PMID 28931020.
  2. "Ghana high plains". photius.com. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  3. "Ghana: Geography Physical". photius.com. Retrieved 24 June 2013., "Ghana: Location and Size". photius.com. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  4. "UNDP Climate Change Country Profile: Ghana". ncsp.undp.org. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  5. "Ghana Travel Weather Averages (Weatherbase)". Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  6. "Ghana". Climatelinks. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  7. "Climate Risk Profile: Ghana". Climatelinks. USAID. January 2017. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  8. Lipp, Erin K.; Huq, Anwar; Colwell, Rita R. (October 2002). "Effects of Global Climate on Infectious Disease: the Cholera Model". Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 15 (4): 757–770. doi:10.1128/CMR.15.4.757-770.2002. ISSN 0893-8512. PMID 12364378.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.